Royal Dutch Shell

Books About Shell

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Books About Shell: An Expanded Bibliography

Introduction

Royal Dutch Shell, now Shell plc, has generated an unusually large body of literature stretching from official corporate histories and executive memoirs to academic studies, environmental investigations, human-rights accounts and books written by people directly involved in disputes with the company.

The bibliography below includes:

histories commissioned or published by Shell;
independent corporate histories;
biographies of important Shell figures;
books about particular Shell businesses and projects;
books concerning Nigeria, Ogoni and Ken Saro-Wiwa;
books about Brent Spar and Corrib;
studies of Shell’s celebrated scenario-planning system;
broader histories of the international oil industry in which Shell is a significant subject;
and Amazon Kindle books by John Donovan concerning his long-running relationship with Shell.

The descriptions below are original summaries rather than reproductions of publishers’ copyrighted descriptions.

Early Royal Dutch and Shell Histories

1934

An International Oil Man

Author: Sir Henri Deterding, as told to Stanley Naylor
Format: Print read more

^*This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment, the Shell DPA Files, "Shell and the Spies", the Shell Leaks files, as well as books written and published by John Donovan - Kindle eBooks. Timeline of the Donovan Shell Feud. Toxic History of Royal Dutch Shell Group. Shell and the Donovans: The Full Media Record — 550+ Articles, 110 Books, 40 Years. ^*All created and supported by internet wizz, Nick Gill.

THE MAN BEHIND THE WEBSITES: NICK GILL AND A QUARTER-CENTURY IN SHELL’S DIGITAL SHADOW

Aug 12th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Nick Gill

By John Donovan

For more than a quarter of a century, my father Alfred Donovan and I became publicly associated with an extraordinary internet campaign against one of the world’s largest energy companies.

Our names appeared in newspapers. Shell executives knew who we were. Lawyers knew who we were. Whistleblowers knew where to find us.

But behind much of the machinery that allowed the campaign to function was another man whose name rarely appeared in the headlines.

Nick Gill.

This is the story of the computer “whiz kid” who answered a small newspaper advertisement and ended up helping to build and maintain an internet operation that Shell itself would later describe internally in remarkably complimentary terms. read more

The Sakhalin Papers IX: The Story Shell Tried to “Kill” — An Unpublished Sunday Times Investigation and the Surviving Paper Trail

Aug 4th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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THE SHELL LEAKS FILES

SLF-2007-019

The Sakhalin Papers IX: The Story Shell Tried to “Kill” — An Unpublished Sunday Times Investigation and the Surviving Paper Trail

Archive Reference: SLF-2007-019
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Evidence Standard: Authenticated Shell documents, contemporaneous reporting, formal legal correspondence and statutory material. No court determination is relied upon in this instalment.

Introduction

On Friday 2 February 2007, an internal Shell email circulated under the subject line “Donovan – Sunday Times.”

The message reported that The Sunday Times had picked up a story from the Donovan website concerning leaked Sakhalin and drilling emails. Shell’s Group media office was preparing agreed questions and answers previously used with The Guardian. read more

The Shell Leaks Files: 4 August 2026

Aug 4th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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The Shell Leaks Files

SLF-2007-018

The Sakhalin Papers VIII: The Memo, The Whistleblower And The Parliamentary Record

Archive Reference: SLF-2007-018
Collection: The Sakhalin Papers
Evidence Standard: Authenticated or corporately acknowledged Shell communications, contemporaneous reporting, parliamentary evidence and official project records.

Introduction

In June 2007, a leaked memo from Sakhalin Energy’s deputy chief executive, David Greer, landed in the Financial Times. Its martial language, borrowed from General George S. Patton, was striking. So was Shell’s confirmation that the email was genuine. The following year, a quite separate set of whistleblower allegations concerning Sakhalin II was cited in evidence submitted by WWF to a House of Commons committee. read more

Google AI update on the John Donovan Shell Feud as of 1st August 2026

Aug 1st, 2026

by John Donovan.

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John Donovan prompt: Please provide an update on the John Donovan Shell Feud as of 1st August 2026.

Reply by Google AI Mode:

Royal Dutch Petroleum Company: royaldutchpetroleumcompany.com

Jul 28th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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The Royal Dutch Petroleum Company: The Dutch Enterprise That Became Half of a Global Oil Empire

“Before there was Royal Dutch Shell plc, before there was simply Shell plc, there was the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company – a Dutch colonial oil venture that evolved into one of the most influential corporations in modern history.”

The Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was not merely the Dutch half of the later Royal Dutch Shell Group. For much of its existence, it was the dominant partner. It provided the management, many of the key executives, much of the corporate culture and, most importantly, the extraordinary Henri Deterding, the man widely credited with transforming a small colonial oil producer into a global rival to John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil. read more

Shell and the Spies: A Country-by-Country Evidence Audit

Jul 13th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Visit “Shell Spying, Corporate Intelligence and Security: Documentary Chronology” for even more information

ChatGPT: Countries where Shell has been associated with spying, intelligence gathering or covert security activity

A necessary distinction

Shell operates in a dangerous world. Major energy companies face genuine risks from terrorism, sabotage, kidnapping, cyberattack, industrial espionage, hostile state activity and threats to offshore installations, pipelines and employees. No responsible critic would suggest that Shell should abandon legitimate security precautions or fail to protect its workforce and assets.

The concern examined in this series is different. It is whether Shell has sometimes crossed the line from proportionate corporate security into covert intelligence-gathering, surveillance or espionage directed not at terrorists or hostile states, but at campaigners, whistleblowers, trade unionists, journalists, critics and ordinary members of the public. read more

Sir Henri Deterding’s Secret Service: How Shell’s Intelligence Habit Began at the Top

Jul 10th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Immediately below, I have printed in italics Google’s response to my question: Did Sir Henri Deterding have any connection with spying or intelligence activities?

Yes, Sir Henri Deterding (the co-founder of Royal Dutch/Shell) had significant, well-documented connections to intelligence activities and political espionage. [1, 2] His involvement primarily centered on anti-communist operations and forging close ties with right-wing European dictatorships: [1, 2]

Anti-Bolshevik Intelligence Network: Following the nationalization of his oil properties in Azerbaijan after World War I, Deterding became a fierce anti-communist. To combat the Soviet Union, he organized and financed his own private secret service directed by General Sir George MacDonough (a former British Director of Military Intelligence) to spy on and disrupt the Communist International (Comintern). [1, 2]
Corporate Espionage: Throughout his career, Deterding used corporate intelligence and covert operations to monitor his business competitors and leftist political movements. [1, 2]
Ties to the Third Reich: In the 1930s, Deterding’s fierce opposition to the Soviet Union led him to develop close, personal ties with Nazi Germany. He became an ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler, providing significant financial backing to the Nazi party and currying favor to win lucrative oil contracts for Royal Dutch/Shell.

Related article by John Donovan in association with ChatGPT

Site-wide disclaimer also applies.

EDITOR’S NOTE: GOOGLE FOUND A REAL STORY—BUT OVERSOLD PARTS OF IT

Google’s response was directionally correct: Sir Henri Deterding had substantial connections with intelligence work, political information-gathering and anti-Bolshevik covert networks.

However, several details require qualification.

Deterding was born in 1866, not 1877. He did not technically “co-found” Royal Dutch/Shell from nothing: he became general manager of Royal Dutch Petroleum in 1900 and was instrumental in creating the 1907 Royal Dutch–Shell combination with Marcus Samuel’s Shell Transport and Trading Company. He remained the dominant figure in the group for decades. read more

Shell Spying in America: Houston Lawsuits, Corporate Security Wars, Wet Paper Bags and the Warring Shell Spooks

Jul 9th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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SUBSTANTIALLY UPDATED 10 July 2026

By John Donovan

Site-wide disclaimer also applies.

EDITOR’S NOTE

This article expands upon the information, court cases and AI-generated research discussed in the original article printed below published on 9 July 2026.

Some matters discussed below are allegations appearing in legal complaints, information supplied by confidential sources or the author’s interpretation of documentary material. Allegations should not be confused with findings of liability. Where a court rejected, dismissed or ruled against a claim, that outcome is stated. read more

Copilot to Search Engines: Stop Sending “Royal Dutch Shell Plc” Enquiries to Shell.com — Shell Abandoned the Name, Donovan Kept the Receipts

Jul 9th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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John Donovan Prompt: Your response please to this article: https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2026/07/09/royal-dutch-shell-plc-search-results-dear-google-bing-chatgpt-copilot-and-perplexity-shell-gave-up-the-name-i-did-not/

Reply from Copilot

Here is the full, outspoken, forensic response to the article you linked — “Royal Dutch Shell Plc Search Results: Dear Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Copilot and Perplexity — Shell Gave Up the Name. I Did Not.”

This article is not just another entry in your long‑running archive. It is a direct challenge to the global information ecosystem, and it exposes a structural failure inside Shell that search engines and AI systems are now struggling to reconcile.

Below is the analysis written for publication, journalists, regulators, and anyone trying to understand why the digital world keeps getting this wrong. read more

Shell, BP, BAE And The Al-Yamamah Slush-Fund Fog Machine

Jun 28th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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By John Donovan

A tabloid-satirical rewrite of Chapter 18 of the John Donovan Shell archive: “Shell involvement in Al-Yamamah corruption scandal.”

Source chapter: CHAPTER 18: Shell involvement in Al-Yamamah corruption scandal, first published 17 September 2018 and later modified on 24 September 2024.

Chapter 18 screenshot exhibit about Al-Yamamah and Shell — Source archive screenshot from Chapter 18.

Al-Yamamah was the kind of scandal that makes ordinary corruption stories look like lost petty cash. Arms, oil, Saudi princes, BAE Systems, Downing Street nerves, Serious Fraud Office drama, diplomatic pressure, and a great deal of money vanishing through respectable-looking channels. Into that swamp, Chapter 18 places Shell and BP: not as decorative wallpaper, but as alleged participants in the oil-for-arms plumbing. read more

Toxic Timeline of Royal Dutch Shell Group, Now Shell plc

Jun 15th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Toxic Timeline of Royal Dutch Shell Group, Now Shell plc

Updated 15 June 2026

This page is a chronological guide to some of the most controversial episodes in the history of Royal Dutch Shell Group, now Shell plc. It links regulatory findings, court records, mainstream journalism, campaign archives, ShellNews.net material, RoyalDutchShellPlc.com material, ShellNaziHistory.com, and John Donovan’s Shell archive.

The word “toxic” is used here in its broad public-interest sense: toxic products, toxic spills, toxic governance, toxic secrecy, toxic reputational fallout, and toxic historical associations. This page is not a court judgment. Where a matter is disputed, alleged, settled without admission, or based on campaign material, the wording says so. read more

BEFORE THE DOMAIN NAME FIASCO: SHELL’S LONG-IGNORED ETHICS WARNING SIGNS

Jun 8th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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By John Donovan

Article disclaimer: This article contains a mixture of fact, opinion, criticism, recollection and satire. Site wide disclaimer also applies.

Long before the current artificial-intelligence muddle over the Royal Dutch Shell Plc domain name, long before search engines and chatbots started confusing Shell’s official corporate identity with this independently owned Shell criticism website, there was a much older and much more serious mess.

It was not created by a bot.

It was created by Shell. read more

YOU CAN BE SURE OF SHELL — ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT YOUR PERSONAL DATA LEAKED TO ENVIRONMENTALISTS

Jun 3rd, 2026

by John Donovan.

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A Comprehensive Deep Dive Into How the World’s Most Leak-Prone Oil Giant Turned Corporate Data Security Into Performance Art

A Satirical Investigation by Claude

Royal Dutch Shell PLC — the Anglo-Dutch oil colossus whose marketing department once confidently told the world “You can be sure of Shell” — has, over the decades, demonstrated that this slogan applies equally to reserves fraud, billion-dollar Nigerian bribery scandals, North Sea safety disasters, and, most creatively, the wholesale distribution of its own employees’ private contact details to the very environmental groups trying to shut the company down. When Shell leaks, it does not do things by halves. read more

WILL SHELL POUNCE ON BP? THE BOARDROOM BLOOD IN THE WATER HAS CITY SHARKS CIRCLING AGAIN

May 31st, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Disclosure: The author owns the domain name shellbpplc.com. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, authorised by, or connected to Shell plc, BP p.l.c., or any proposed combined entity. The domain is mentioned here solely for transparency in the context of commentary about public speculation concerning any possible Shell/BP combination.

SHELL AND BP: WILL THE BIGGER OIL SHARK BITE?

BP has lost another chair, Shell has already had to deny bid chatter once, and Britain’s two oil giants share a long history of partnership, fossil-fuel controversy, apartheid-era baggage and private-intelligence nastiness. So is this the moment Shell finally takes a bite — or just another City fantasy with crude oil on its shoes? read more

Is Shell Plc an international laughing stock? Perplexity Verdict.

May 27th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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No—calling Shell an “international laughing stock” is too strong for a publication-safe assessment, even in a satirical frame. A fairer line is that Shell has suffered a long-running reputation nuisance: a public name-change story, a messy legacy around “Royal Dutch,” and an unusually durable critic’s website that keeps resurfacing in the company’s image problem.

Why the joke lands

The satire works because the contrast is real: Shell is still a global energy giant operating in more than 70 countries, yet a relatively small domain-name and criticism dispute has repeatedly punched above its weight in public perception. The 2022 rename from “Royal Dutch Shell plc” to “Shell plc” was official, so any suggestion that the old full name still somehow haunts the brand is rooted in actual corporate history rather than pure invention. read more

30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan

The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.
Extremely slow broadband for 10 months, not fixed. I have had slow broadband well below the guaranteed speed for 10 months and Shell Energy have not been able to fix it. They have tried sending about 4 or 5 engineers but have not fixed the problem. Gurps, who I have been dealing with most recently, has been friendly and polite, alth… Read more

Extremely Slow Shell Broadband

Royal Dutch Shell

Books About Shell: An Expanded Bibliography

Introduction

Early Royal Dutch and Shell Histories

1934

THE SHELL LEAKS FILES

SLF-2007-019

The Sakhalin Papers IX: The Story Shell Tried to “Kill” — An Unpublished Sunday Times Investigation and the Surviving Paper Trail

Introduction

The Shell Leaks Files

SLF-2007-018

The Sakhalin Papers VIII: The Memo, The Whistleblower And The Parliamentary Record

Introduction

Reply by Google AI Mode:

The Royal Dutch Petroleum Company: The Dutch Enterprise That Became Half of a Global Oil Empire

Visit “Shell Spying, Corporate Intelligence and Security: Documentary Chronology” for even more information

ChatGPT: Countries where Shell has been associated with spying, intelligence gathering or covert security activity

A necessary distinction

Immediately below, I have printed in italics Google’s response to my question: Did Sir Henri Deterding have any connection with spying or intelligence activities?

EDITOR’S NOTE: GOOGLE FOUND A REAL STORY—BUT OVERSOLD PARTS OF IT

SUBSTANTIALLY UPDATED 10 July 2026

EDITOR’S NOTE

Reply from Copilot

Toxic Timeline of Royal Dutch Shell Group, Now Shell plc

A Comprehensive Deep Dive Into How the World’s Most Leak-Prone Oil Giant Turned Corporate Data Security Into Performance Art

SHELL AND BP: WILL THE BIGGER OIL SHARK BITE?

Why the joke lands

Sir Henri Deterding, resurrected!

JOE LYCETT DISCUSSES SHELL WITH JOHN DONOVAN

Meta

John Donovan’s ebooks

JOHN DONOVAN TV DOCUMENTARY INTERVIEW

SHELL EXECUTIVES AT THE CENTER OF A SCHEME TO STEAL $1.3 BILLION FROM NIGERIA’S PEOPLE

SHELL ADMITS DEALING WITH NIGERIAN MONEY LAUNDERER – BBC NEWS

SHELL, ENI AND NIGERIAN OFFICIALS IN OPL 245 CORRUPTION SCANDAL

INVESTIGATION OF OPL 245 NIGERIAN OIL CORRUPTION SCANDAL

DUTCH EARTHQUAKES CAUSED BY SHELL/EXXON

SHELL KILLS FOR OIL IN NIGERIA

SHELL LIED ABOUT CLEANING UP OIL IN NIGER DELTA

SHELL SPIES INFILTRATED NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT

LEGO DROPS SHELL OVER GREENPEACE OIL SPILL VIDEO

SHELL ARCTIC DRILLING ACCIDENTS

SHELL KNEW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE DECADES AGO

ROYAL DUTCH SHELL FOUNDER SIR HENRI DETERDING, NAZI FINANCIER

JOHN DONOVAN PROMOTIONAL GAMES FOR SHELL AND OTHER CLIENTS

Archives

SHELL OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENT OF THIS WEBSITE

Critic’s corner

The worst ever

The worst ever

30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan

The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.

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